[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 171 (Friday, September 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54216-54217]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-22020]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 55 (Sub-No. 704X)]


CSX Transportation, Inc.--Abandonment Exemption[horbar]in Clay 
County, KY

    CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT) filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon a 2.95-mile of railroad on its Southern Region, Huntington 
Division West, CV Subdivision, extending from milepost 0CF 208.71 to 
milepost 0CF 211.66, known as the Horse Creek Branch, in Manchester, 
Clay County, KY. The following stations are located on the line: (1) 
Claymont, milepost 0CF208; (2) Greenleaf, milepost 0CF210; (3) Red 
Bird, milepost 0CF203; (4) Orford, milepost 0CF214; (5) Sibert, 
milepost 0CF216; (6) North Ridge, milepost 0CF212; and (7) Becky Ann2, 
milepost 0CF217. The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip 
Code 40962.
    CSXT has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years; (2) any overhead traffic on the line can be 
rerouted over other lines; (3) no formal complaint filed by a user of 
rail service on the line (or by a state or local government entity 
acting on behalf of such user) regarding cessation of service over the 
line either is pending with the Surface Transportation Board (Board) or 
with any U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of 
complainant within the 2-year period; and (4) the requirements at 49 
CFR 1105.7(c) (environmental report), 49 CFR 1105.11 (transmittal 
letter), 49 CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 
1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental agencies) have been met.
    As a condition to this exemption, any employee adversely affected 
by the abandonment shall be protected under Oregon Short Line Railroad 
& The Union Pacific Railroad--Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch Between 
Firth & Ammon, in Bingham & Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 360 I.C.C. 91 
(1979). To address whether this condition adequately protects affected 
employees, a petition for partial revocation under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) 
must be filed.
    Provided no formal expression of intent to file an offer of 
financial assistance (OFA) has been received, this exemption will be 
effective on October 5, 2010, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\1\ formal 
expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\2\ and 
trail use/rail banking requests under 49

[[Page 54217]]

CFR 1152.29 must be filed by September 13, 2010. Petitions to reopen or 
requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed 
by September 23, 2010, with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
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    \1\ The Board will grant a stay if an informed decision on 
environmental issues (whether raised by a party or by the Board's 
Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) in its independent 
investigation) cannot be made before the exemption's effective date. 
See Exemption of Out-of-Serv. Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C.2d 377 (1989). Any 
request for a stay should be filed as soon as possible so that the 
Board may take appropriate action before the exemption's effective 
date.
    \2\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is 
currently set at $1,500. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
CSXT's representative: Kathryn R. Barney, CSX Transportation, Inc., 500 
Water Street, J-150, Jacksonville, FL 32202.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    CSXT has filed environmental and historic reports which address the 
effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment and historic 
resources. OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by September 
10, 2010. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to 
OEA (Room 1100, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423-
0001) or by calling OEA, at (202) 245-0305. [Assistance for the hearing 
impaired is available through the Federal Information Relay Service 
(FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.] Comments on environmental and historic 
preservation matters must be filed within 15 days after the EA becomes 
available to the public.
    Environmental, historic preservation, public use, or trail use/rail 
banking conditions will be imposed, where appropriate, in a subsequent 
decision.
    Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 1152.29(e)(2), CSXT shall file 
a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has 
exercised the authority granted and fully abandoned the line. If 
consummation has not been effected by CSXT's filing of a notice of 
consummation by September 3, 2011, and there are no legal or regulatory 
barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically 
expire.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at http://www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: August 27, 2010.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Kulunie L. Cannon,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2010-22020 Filed 9-2-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P